The 150th birth anniversary of Cornelia Sorabji, the first Indian woman student in Britain and India's first woman lawyer, has been celebrated at the India House here.
Speaking on the occasion, leading NRI entrepreneur Lord Karan Bilimoria described Cornelia as the "first woman to study in Bombay University, the first woman of any nationality to do law in Oxford and the first woman to practise law in India."
Noting that Britain has changed in the last three decades, Bilimoria wanted the UK government to exclude international students, including those coming from India, for higher studies here from the list of immigrants.
"They should be allowed to come, study and work here," he said.
The Acting High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik described Cornelia as a "legend."
Cornelia, the first female law student at Oxford in 1889 continues to provide a pioneering link between India and the prestigious varsity.
Cornelia was not only Somerville College's first indian student, but was also the first Indian woman to study at any British University.
On her return, she became the first woman to practise law in India and worked on behalf of women living in purdah.
Her lifetime's work as a social reformer centred on support for the poor and for women at every level of society.
Cornelia had come to Oxford with the help of a subscription raised by progressive British men and women including Madeleine Shaw Lefevre, the first Principal of Somerville.
"The Faculty of Law and Soverville College are proud to celebrate CorneliaSorabji and her achievements through the creation of scholarships for outstanding Indian graduate students in Law," a spokespersonof the Soverville College said.
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